Tuesday March, 12, 2024
Today I hit the ground running, determined to stop the issues that plague us day in and day out. Eli came into our room singing and dancing this morning, but was met with a “you stink” face by his older brother (who isn’t afraid to say it like it is) and I watched Eli’s heart break… and then I saw the reaction Mitch experienced and his heart broke too. So, in the span of less than a minute, we went from laughing, dancing and singing to dealing with the heart break of admitting ‘this happened again’ and ‘I’m sorry I reacted so crudely’ all because of an issue that, at times, seems larger than life.
As I read through the literature and try to understand what others who live with autism call ‘normal’ I struggle to understand how this is not really talked about. Then I realize we live in a world where judgement and put downs often times trump helping others and loving them well. So, I’m going to be bold and talk about something that is relatively uncommon, but still exists. In my quest to try to let everyone be seen, heard, and validated this may apply to you, or someone you know or love. In any case, please know you are loved and that this storm shall pass.
Since Eli was toilet trained (4 years old), he has had an issue with going #2. I have witnessed this first hand and understanidng that it likely feels even more uncomfortable as it looks, I knew I needed to find a solution. Five years later, I am still looking.
His selective food choices, no doubt, has a lot to due with his pottying issues. But I also suspect an interest in the fecal matter at hand because the smell nor the texture (think brown marbles ranging in size of ping pong balls to ball bearings) offends him. We have tried increasing his hydration (offering more water and making it super available throughout the day via a filled reusable water bottle), gummy fiber supplements, and insisting he takes two bites of each of the food he is offered in hopes we can get some natural stimulants, softeners, roto rooters to do the job. But we have never tried all these together. That is what I am set out to do today.
- 70oz of water. Filling his 16oz water bottle 4-5 times while also allowing some ice will acheive this goal.
- add 5-10g soluble fiber via 1-2 fiber gummies today
- add a small scoop of metamucil to his dinnertime drink
- repeat everyday, keep the same until next week
- assess and change as needed
We will also do a deep clean in his room today to rid any remnants of smell that may linger. I will shampoo the carpet, while he helps disinfect the walls. We will then clean up his bedsheets (he loves his Christmas ones but I am going to try and get a different set in there today just to freshen everything up a little more). After this, I will refill his essential oil diffuser with a great mint and lavendar mix.
I will incentivize him with a whole room make-over if he is able to keep the goal of staying clean and keeping his room clean until after his birthday (3.23). If he does well, with just some minor slips – if any, we will add a little creative customization to his room with a Super Mario themed wall, light and sheet set along with a desk and a chair for him to color and draw in before bed.
Also, we will continue our forestry course in silvopasture so we know what trees to drop and what trees to keep up in order to plan for a healthy future forest and allow for our silvofarming/ silvopasture dreams to continue to thrive throughout our somewhat heavily wooded land full of tree tops from the prior owners lumbering decisions.
After cleaning Eli’s room, chatching up with laundry, and homeschooling, we will have the choice of two options tonight while dinner (chicken quessadila filling, rice or wraps) is cooking: continue with our puzzle quest to put all the puzzles together that we have accumulated since the pandemic and eventually glue/ frame them and/ or to continue helping me put all our pictures into photo albums. I have thousands of printed pics that I have accumulated through our families moving around and my parents divorce and I would love to get them all in books just to relive those happy memories and share them with the people I love most. There are also some pictures of Tom and his family that are precious and need to be preserved and celebrated as well. I organized the pictures into:
- Tom-pre-Jenn,
- me-pre-Tom
- us dating/ newly married
- + Mitch
- + Mitch & Fia
- + Mitch, Fia, & Eli
- + Mitch, Fia, Eli & Noah
- Montana
- Almost There Acres
- Leaving 7 additional alboms devoted to:
- Mitch
- Fia
- Noah
- Eli
- All our cars (we like cars, what can I say?!)
- All our home projects: builds, DIYs, etc.
- All our pets because they’re awesome… each and every one of them
So, yeah. That’s today. The ground is still thawing and drying up from yesterdays snow/ freezing temps and the weekend’s crazy downpours that proved to us just how much we needed to get our underground network of piping and drainage under control since after we had the porches put on last December. The ducks loved the various make shift large puddles/ small ponds the lack of drainage gave them. Seeing them so happy gave me a newfound determination to get them safe into their own extra watery spot.
And now, off to put the chicken and veggies in our Ninja slowcooker and then vacuum and shampoo some carpets while I chip away at the ever present Project: Mount Washmore (i.e. dirty laundry).